Straight-bar knitting machine



ouf-11m@ ACU June 7, 1949. H. w. START ETAL STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING MACHINEv 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 11, 1946 by. Huhn-M June 7, 1949. H. w. START ErAL STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filmed Dec. 1l, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 7, 1949 STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING MACHINE Harry Wilfred Start, Carlton, and Ernest Start, Kylestrome, Wilford, England, assignors to William Cotton Limited, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England Application December 11, 1946, Serial No. 715,416 In Great Britain September 4, 1945 Section 1, Public Law .690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires September 4, 1965 11 Claims. l

This invention relates to improvements in Cottons patent and other straight-bar knitting machines. In such machines the slurcocks for advancing the sinkers are commonly traversed by draw mechanism for an equal distance (e. g. 18") each traverse and at a substantially constant speed, while at Varying stages during each traverse thereof thread carriers are started from rest (by being picked up by a member reciprocating in unison with the slurcocks) and are traversed varying distances (from 2" to 15").

In order to produce work of uniform quality throughout it is highly desirable that the thread carriers during their travel should have a certain lead over the slurcocks and to accomplish this heretofore, the carrier reciprocating member has been driven by draw means separate from the slurcock draw mechanism the relative timing of the two draws being such that the carrier draw starts before the slurcock draw with the result that the carriers are picked up just before the slurcock reaches them and the lead thus gained is maintained to the end of the carrier traverse. The necessity for this arises from the fact that as the carrier itself cannot be started until the sinker draw has commenced, the maximum lead obtainable is shortened, while the carrier is being accelerated from rest to top speed and further reduced during the deceleration as the carrier is brought to rest so that unless an independent draw or other means are fitted, the sinker draw will overtake the carriers.

A disadvantage of this arrangement is that any discrepancy in the relative positions of the two draws at any time due to various causes such as wear of cams and other parts has immediate effect in varying the lead of the carriers over the slurcocks.

An object of the present invention is to provide means for driving the reciprocating member from the normal draw mechanism associated with the slurcock tie bar so that the necessity of providing special draw mechanism for this purpose is obviated, and it may here be pointed out that the tting of a second draw causes mechanical diiculties arising out of the increased congestion in the already restricted space on the cam shaft of the machine, whereas the the mechanism hereinafter described occupies a position where adequate room is available.

This invention provides in or for a straight bar knitting machine means for effecting a driving connection between thread carrier driving mechanism and slurcock draw mechanism and the saine or other means arranged to adjust the relative positions of part of the carrier mechanism and part of the slurcock mechanism automatically each traverse. The movement of the reciprocating member relatively to the slurcock tie bar so that it moves the thread carriers in advance of the slurcocks is preferably made at or near the beginning or the end of each traverse, or partly at or near the beginning and partly at or near the end.

The present invention further includes the provision, in a Cottons patent or other straight-bar knitting machine having a reciprocatable driving member and a reciprocatable driven member, of means for adjusting the relative positions of said members, comprising a rack-and-pinion driving coupling and means controlling the rotation of the pinion. It will be appreciated that while this apparatus is particularly suitable for adjusting the lead of a carrier Aover a slurcock (for example the driving member being identiiied with or c'oupled to the slurcock tie bar or other part moving with the slurcock and the driven member being coupled or identified with a carrier driving rod or equivalent member) yet the apparatus is capable of a wider application to al1 instances wherein it is desired to secure a constant lead of one reciprocatable member over another, for example to secure a constant lead oi.' one carrier over another.

Preferably the rack and pinion are reciprocatable in unison and means are provided for periodically holding the pinion against rotation and for rotating it to a predetermined extent. There may be means for rotating the pinion first in one direction and then in the other and for holding it stationary between successive rotations. In a particularly advantageous construction this means consists of a track-follower connected to the pinion but disposed off-centre thereof, and a track engaged by the follower and determining the movements of said follower and pinion about the pinion axis.

In one embodiment, the track is an endless or closed-path track, which may be relatively stationary and comprises two portions extending lengthwise of the general path of movement of the coupling, and end-portions joining them. In general, it will be necessary to provide such a track with switches for permitting relative travel between the track and follower in one direction only.

In an alternative embodiment, means are provided for periodically displacing the track to and fro to produce rotation of the pinion. Speci- Qailly. the track may extend lengthwise of the general path of movement of the coupling and there may be means for periodically displacing said track laterally.

In order that the nature of this invention may be more readily understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an elevational view of mechanism according to this invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail of an alternative construction.

Fig. 6 is a detail of a further alternative construction.

In carrying out this invention the reciprocating member which drives the thread carrier bar driving mechanism is connected to a slide I which is provided at a convenient point thereon with a rack 2. Engaging with this rack 2 is a pinion 3 which is carried by a second slide 4 which is connected to and reciprocated by the draw mechanism which drives the slurcock tie bar 4a and to the same extent as the latter. The pinion 3 is normally held against rotation and it will therefore be seen that the slide I connected to the carrier bar driving mechanism will be reciprocated by the draw mechanism associated with the slurcock tie bar 4a. As previously explained it is necessary to provide the carrier bar driving mechanism with a lead in advance of the slurcocks and it will be readily seen that if the slide I connected to the carrier bar driving mechanism is given a lead in advance of the slurcock tie bar 4a each traverse, a corresponding lead will be given to the carrier bar driving mechanism.

The necessary lead to the slide I is provided -by angularly adjusting the pinion 3 about its axis the requisite amount each traverse to move the slide I relatively to the slurcock tie bar 4a to give it the necessary lead in advance of lthe slurcocks. The adjustment of the pinion 3 is preferably made partly at or near the end of one traverse and partly at or near the beginning of the next traverse in the opposite direction so the slide, which starts to move at the same time as the slurcock tie bar 4a, starts with the necessary lead in front of the slurcocks. It is well known that the slurcocks which are connected to the slurcock tie bar move clear of the sinkers at each end of the traverse and the adjustment of the pinion takes place when the slurcocks have moved clear of the sinkers. The movement of the slide I relatively to the slurcock tie bar 4a to provide the necessary lead to the carrier bar driving mechanism is not very great as the thread carriers are preferably arranged to move only a short distance in front of the slurcocks and the normal over-run of the slurcocks over the sinkers at each end of the traverse is suilcient to permit of the adjustment of the pinion 3, even when the thread carriers are required to traverse across the full width of the needles.

The adjustment of the pinion 3 may be carried out in any convenient manner and for this purpose the pinion 3, is mounted on an axle 5 to which is secured one end of an arm 6 the other end of which carries a roller 1 which moves in a stationary cam track 8. This cam track 8 comprises two parallel grooves or slots 8a, 8b, disposed the requisite distance apart and having their ends connected together to form an endless cam track along which the roller 1 moves, the connection between the two parallel parts 8a, 8b, being so shaped as shown in Fig. 1 that tion gear (not shown).

the pinion 3 is angularly adjusted partly near the end of the traverse as the roller passes from a parallel part into an end of the track and partly near the beginning of each traverse as the roller passes from an end of the track to a parallel Dart of the track. In order to ensure that the roller enters the right track at the commencement of each traverse inclined cams 9 (the switches aforesaid) are provided. These cams are carried by levers I0 and are biassed by springs I I into the path of the roller in such manner that as the roller l reaches either end of the track it rides on the inclined face of the adjacent cam and pushes it out of the track and passes it whereupon it immediately springs back behind the roller Fig. 5 which therefore can only continue its movement along the right track. Thus it will be seen at the commencement of a traverse, left to right, from the position shown in Fig. 1 the roller I rides up into the top part 8a of the track and so turns the pinion 3 in an anticlockwise direction which advances the slide I in relation to the member 4. At the end of this traverse (at a phase when the carriers will have been brought to rest by their stops) the roller rides down from the part 8a and passes the right hand cam 9, in so doing the pinion 3 is rotated in a clockwise direction to cause slide I to lag behind member 4. At the start of the next traverse from right to left this rotation of the pinion is continued as the roller 'l is carried down into the lower part 8b, of the track, with the result that the slide I is again advanced in relation to the member 4. That is to say, in each traverse a carrier driven by slide I will be given a lead over a slurcock travelling with member 4.

In an alternative arrangement shown in Fig. 5, the roller 'l carried by the arm E on the pinion axle 5 moves in a longitudinal slot or groove I2 in a plate I3 and the plate I3 is moved laterally of the slot I2 at each end of the traverse to move the arm 6 and angularly adjust the pinion 3 about its axis 5. The plate I3 may be moved in any convenient manner and for this purpose it may be movably mounted in the machine and adjusted at the appropriate time and to the desired extent by an arm or arms I4 pivoted to the xed framing of the machine and adjusted by a cam or cams I5 running half the speed of the main shaft of the machine in order that the plate may be moved from one extreme position to the other each traverse. For this purpose the cams I5 may be loosely mounted on the main shaft and driven therefrom by a suitable reduc- The reduction gear is driven from the main shaft through a dog clutch which is so arranged that it is disengaged when the main shaft is shogged in well known manner to bring the fashioning cams into operation.

It will be appreciated that whereas in the examples described the pinion 3 serves to drive the rack 2, yet it is within the scope of the invention to reverse this arrangement and to have the rack drive the pinion.

In the further alternative construction as i1- lustrated in Fig. 6 the pinion is replaced by a bell crank lever I6 having a slot l'l for engagement with a peg I8 provided in lieu of the rack.

We claim:

l. In a straight-bar knitting machine having a slurcock, draw mechanism for reciprocating it, and at least one carrier also driven by the same mechanism, the combination of reciprocatable rack for driving the carrier, a pinion meshing with the rack and bodily reciprocatable by said mechanism with the slurcock, and means for producing rotation of the pinion at least at one end of each traverse thereof and for preventing rotation during at least the major part of each traverse, thereby to produce a lead of the carrier over the slurcock.

2. For a straight bar knitting machine having a reciprocatable carrier-driving member and a reciprocatable slur-cock driving member; mechanism for coupling the two members together to be traversed to and fro from a common driver and for ensuring a constant lead of one member over the other which mechanism comprises two toothed gear elements meshing with one another and connected to the respective members, and means for imparting movement of partial rotation to one of them at each traverse. 4

3. In a straight bar knitting machine having two members movable to and fro; mechanism for coupling them together and for imparting to one of them a lead over the other in each traverse which mechanism comprises two toothed gear elements meshing with one another and connected to the respective members to traverse therewith, and means for rotating one of these gear elements in one direction at one traverse and in the opposite direction at the next traverse and so on in alternation.

4. In a straight bar knitting machine having two members movable to and fro mechanism for coupling them together and for imparting to one of them a lead over the other in each traverse, which mechanism comprises a toothed gear element capable of movement of partial rotation and connected to one of the said members, a second toothed gear element meshing with the rst and connected to the other member, and means for imparting to the rst gear element movements of partial rotation in one direction at one traverse and in the opposite direction at the next traverse and so on in alternation and for thereby adjusting the one member in relation to the other in one direction at the end of one traverse and in the opposite direction at the end of the next traverse and so on.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3, for adjusting the lead of a carrier over a. slur-cock.

6. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the two gear elements comprise a rack and pinion reciprocatable in unison, and wherein the means for imparting movement of partial rotation operates on the pinion.

7. In a straight bar knitting machine having two members movable to and fro; mechanism for coupling them together and for imparting to one of them a lead over the other in each traverse, which mechanism comprises a toothed gear element capable of movements of partial rotation, a track follower connected thereto but disposed off-center thereof, means operating on the track follower for rotating the gear element in one direction at the end of one traverse and 6 in the opposite direction at the end of the next traverse and so on, which means comprises a track extending in the direction of traverse and engaging the follower, and a second toothed gear element meshing with the rst and connected to the other member.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the track is an endless track.

9. In a straight bar knitting machine having two members movable to and fro; mechanism for coupling them together and for imparting to one of them a lead over the other in each traverse, which mechanism comprises a relatively stationary closed-path track consisting of two portions extending lengthwise of the traverse and end portions joining them, a toothed gear element capable of movement of partial rotation and connected to one of the members to traverse therewith, a track follower connected to the gear element but disposed off-center thereof and engaged in the track to travel unidirectionally around it thereby to rock the gear element in one direction at one end of its travel and in the opposite direction at the other end thereof, and a second toothed gear element meshing with the first one and connectingwith the other member to travel with the latter.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, having switches in the track for permitting the follower to travel along it in one direction only.

ll. In a straight bar knitting machine having two members movable to and fro; mechanism for coupling them together and for imparting to one of them a lead over the other in each traverse, which mechanism comprises an element capable of movement of partial rotation and connected to one of the members, a second element connected to the other member and engaging with the first so as to be shifted in the direction of traverse in the said movement of partial rotation, a track follower connected to the first element but disposed off-center thereof, and a track engaging said track follower for producing the movement of partial rotation.

HARRY WILFRED START. ERNEST START.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the rile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,051,955 Lieberknecht Aug. 25, 1936 2,063,000 Richter Dec. 1, 1936 2,195,350 Worm Mar. 26, 1940 2,270,131 Leupold Jan. 13, 1942 2,396,445 Start et al Mar. 12, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 844,205 France Apr. 17, 1939 

